Team MAPs: 1981 Fleer

 

A comment left on the 1981 Fleer Team MVPs post hit the nail-on-the-there's-way-too-much-space-above-the-player's-head.

 

Dime Box Nick said that '81 Fleer is one of those sets where the "good" cards are really good and the "bad" cards are really bad. I had noticed exactly that while going through the set to write that post. And I was already in the process of developing a second post on the idea when Nick left that comment.

 

But I'm not sure that "bad" is the right adjective. And I didn't want to write anything like "Team Least Valuable Players." The vibe that I get from these "bad" cards in the set is that they're just plain awkward. That's the adjective I'm looking for. Awkward cards all over this set.

 

So I'm going to break down the Most Awkward Player per each team for the '81 Fleer set. It's perhaps the only set I could do this for ... except maybe half of the other Fleer sets from the 1980s. Like the Team MVPs posts, selecting each team's card is largely a subjective exercise but I think collectors could come to more of a consensus on the MVP cards than on the MAPs.  

Some of these awkward cards likely only bother me (and they really bother me). So I'll add a bit of an explanation for each card.

I also won't go through the usual Team MVP rundown, but I will organize the cards by the divisional breakdown in MLB in 1981, per the previous format.

Get ready for some Awkward.

American League East

 

Orioles: Gary Roenicke, Red Sox: Steve Renko, Indians: Mike Stanton, Tigers: Jim Lentine, Brewers: Jerry Augustine (but not really), Yankees: Johnny Oates, Blue Jays: Jim Clancy

Reasons:

Orioles: Gary Roenicke looks positively immovable. Catatonic, even. I don't think that's anything you want to capture in a ballplayer.

Red Sox: Horrible cropping is my main complaint with early '80s Fleer. Why is Renko shifted to the lower left? Why are his feet covered by the baseball? Just shift that whole pic up-and-to-the-right!

Indians: Not much offensive here. Just a boring card.

Tigers: This one has bothered me since 1981. Get that body out of Jim Lentine's shot!

Brewers: Nothing wrong with the photo ... except that's not Jerry Augustine. It's Bill Travers.

Yankees: Could've been a really nice Fenway Park photo but Johnny Oates is cropped off on his left side for unknown reasons.

Blue Jays: Clancy's lower legs and feet are sacrificed for a shot of empty seats.

 

 

American League West

 

Angels: Jim Fregosi, White Sox: Francisco Barrios, Royals: U.L. Washington, Twins: Sal Butera, A's: Dave Revering, Mariners: Reggie Walton, Rangers: Bump Wills

Reasons:

Angels: The manager is stoned.

White Sox: Boring and hatless.

Royals: U.L. Washington is featuring his usual toothpick in his mouth, but the shot is at an angle where it's barely apparent, it could be a tooth or food item.

Twins: Is this a testicle reference? Sal has ball and balls? Am I reading too much into this?

A's: Oakland actually has really good cards in this set. Revering's issue is the card is just plain.

Mariners: Odd crop, but way to get that Fenway shaving or pen advertisement into the pic.

Rangers: Nothing too bad, just the odd placement of Wills' arm throws me.

 

 

National League East

 

Cubs: Jim Tracy, Expos: Charlie Lea, Mets: Wally Backman, Phillies: Del Unser, Pirates: Bill Robinson, Cardinals: Bob Forsch

 

Reasons:

Cubs: Tracy's photo is quite washed-out and he practically blends in with the stands behind him.

Expos: I love '80s Fleer for the baseball mundaneness it placed on cards, but trying to pull your shirt sleeve down with your glove hand might be the most unexciting action portrayed on a card ever.

Mets: Not a very clear shot of a guy standing in a hole.

Phillies: Fleer treated the defending World Champions pretty well in this set. Unser's odd-cropping -- maybe show the hands? -- is probably the most awkward. The bat behind him is strange, too.

Pirates: I've seen this shot close-cropped on cards from time to time. It's weird. How about a full glove shot and the ball to actually show the player in the act of throwing? A little too arty.

Cardinals: Odd crop. Weird '80s perm.

 

 

National League West

 

Braves: Gene Garber, Reds: Bill Bonham, Astros: Bruce Bochy, Dodgers: Don Stanhouse, Giants: Milt May, Padres: Jerry Turner

Reasons:

Braves: Garber dutifully posed for his shot, then he was distracted for just a second and he paid for it.

Reds: Fleer did not shy away from showing bare skin in its early sets (see: 1982 Pete Falcone), but I'd rather see what Bonham is actually signing.

Astros: The most expressionless photo ... well, except for Gary Roenicke.

Dodgers: Acres of space above Stanhouse's head. Also: PIRATES.

Giants: I appreciate players in the background of photos but usually it's far in the background and it is not clashing with the subject of the card. Anyway, I couldn't find too much awful with this team, except that it's this team.

Padres: Shift that photo to the right, please!

 

Pretty awkward, huh?

 

That's one of the main indicators that this set was rushed into production after the court ruling in mid-1980 that Fleer could indeed make a baseball card set.

But I wouldn't have it any other way. This is what makes 1981 Fleer distinctive, even distinctive among other Fleer sets from the same time period.